Colombia – Working with the Colombian Reintegration Agency, IOM has assisted 749 ex-combatants to reintegrate into civilian life by providing training, job placement assistance or facilitating their return to school.

Under IOM’s Community Oriented Reintegration of Ex-combatants (CORE) programme, 63% of the 749 persons assisted received training and support to find jobs; 42% received psychosocial assistance; 38% received job training; 35% received training, evaluation, and/or financing to create or strengthen small businesses; 5% opted to continue their education; and 1% were employed by private firms working with IOM to employ demobilized personnel.

To date, over 55,000 illegal combatants have demobilized in Colombia. Some 32,000 were members of the United Self-Defence Forces of Colombia (AUC), who were demobilized collectively between 2003 and 2006. A further 23,000 were demobilized individually from different guerrilla groups.

“Resolution 163, issued by the Colombian Government in 2011, established requirements that participants must meet in order to access benefits and receive alternative treatment for the crimes committed during their time with illegal armed group. This process, which IOM helped to design, lasts between six and seven years, and is known as the Reintegration Route,” says Marcelo Pisani, IOM Chief of Mission in Colombia.

Some of the government requirements include: voluntary participation in the government-designed reintegration program; not committing crimes; signing an agreement to tell the truth, which will contribute to the central archives of the armed conflict; and carrying out community service in host communities - all with the goal of reconciliation. 

“Participants who meet the requirements and have developed an income generation project can successfully complete the reintegration process. The challenge confronted by the 749 men and women assisted by IOM will be to uphold their commitment to non-recidivism, to contribute to the historical memory of the armed conflict, and to continue participating in reconciliation activities,” adds Pisani.

Claudia (not her real name), a recent graduate, told IOM: “The reintegration process is like being able to dream again.”  She encourages her fellow ex-combatants to take advantage of the opportunities being offered by the government.  “We must all contribute to making Colombia a peaceful country in which we are all protagonists,” she added.

IOM’s CORE progamme is funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the governments of Canada, Sweden, Spain, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.  

For more information please contact

Jorge Gallo
IOM Colombia
Tel: 571 639 7777, Ext. 1219
Email: jgallo@iom.int